‘In India, we realise nothing ever dies finally’

Sir Mark Tully, the BBC voice in India for over two decades, has a new book out, India’s Unending Journey: Finding Balance in a Time of Change. And, as the title suggests, he advocates balance and moderation—to the Indian media in particular.

In an interview to The Independent, London, Sir Mark says the Indian media must be careful to preserve its values in the rush to embrace change. One Indian journalist colleague commented to him that “there are two areas of Indian life where more money is being spent and the product is getting worse: the media and cricket.”

While talking to young Indian media workers, Sir Mark says he is often told that the radio, the medium for which he is best known, is dead.

“I say to them that that’s a very un-Indian thing to say and that in India we realise that nothing ever dies finally. One of the greatest forms of communication in India is still the bush telegraph. I always point out that the printing press didn’t kill off this form of communication, radio didn’t kill off the print media, television didn’t kill off radio and the internet isn’t going to kill off anyone. This is the balanced way and I think the Indian way to look at it.”